Articles

Many films over the years have featured the character of the 'monster-mentor,' the tough elder who pushed a directee onto excellence. If we see the value of this in regard to other fields though, shouldn’t we see it in regard to the spiritual life?

The ISIS terrorist group recently released a brutal video titled “A Message in Blood to the Nation of the Cross.” Up and down the centuries, tyrants and their lackeys have thought that they could wipe out the followers of Jesus through acts of violence. But as Tertullian observed long ago, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.

The British writer, actor, and comedian Stephen Fry is featured in a YouTube video rant against God which has gone viral. Is he right that evil and suffering disprove God? Is the world ultimately meaningless? Fr. Barron responds to these age old questions.

Thomas Merton was not perfect, and he might not have been a saint. But he was indeed a master of the spiritual life, and his life and work had a profound effect on me and an army of others around the world. Fr. Barron offers a tribute to him on the 100th anniversary of Merton's birth.

Ridley Scott’s new film “Exodus: Gods and Kings” features all the basic elements of the biblical story, but he nevertheless misses the main point. The biblical Exodus is not primarily about political liberation but spiritual liberation from false gods.

Our postmodern world has produced a "Meh" culture which lacks objective truths and boundaries. The twentieth century philosopher Dietrich von Hildebrand rejected this culture, so much so that he spoke out vigorously against objective evils like anti-Semitism, crude nationalism, and indifference to human dignity.

How can Bl. John Henry Newman's idea of the 'development of doctrine' frame our discussion about the recent Synod on the Family? And does Cardinal Walter Kasper's proposal represent an authentic development in Church teaching or a corruption?